Of Storms and Wildfires
by SilentNightKat
Summary: Many Uzumaki would've told you Uzushiogakure was alive, that she was a being of chakra as much as an island. Silly right? They would have also told you of their belief in reincarnation, another silly idea, until Naruto starts recalling lives that are not his own, and a woman saying her name is Uzushio appears in his dreams.


_The smell of sea salt jolts him awake, the bright sky blue painted walls make him stunned, and the slender female teen with fiery red hair leaning over him leaves him breathless. Naruto could only blink and nod at the woman's questions, shuddering each time she caressed his face with such care that Naruto could feel tears prick his eyes._

 _" Chise, it's time to get up." She tells him, soft and kind, and Naruto doesn't even mind she called him by another name, after all, if she's being nice to him because he's Chise, then he isn't going to tell her he's Naruto._

 _Her fingers were slender and long, her nails painted deep red and Naruto watched them in wonder as they combed through his too long blonde hair. It was only when he felt her hands pull down his covers that he broke his focus from her face, and became entranced by the clothes he wore, instead of a loose shirt with too many holes, and a large pair of shorts held only to him by a belt, he wore a neat white silk kimono. The woman, Akiho his mind told him, helped him out of bed, and like everything else, his bed was different too, instead of a beaten old mattress with stains and springs popping out, laying on the cold gray concrete, his bed was a large plush bed with deep orange sheets, ad a white bedspread that felt and looked like nothing but fluff. Naruto still couldn't fathom why 'Chise' and him lived so differently._

 _Maybe it was because Chise had a sister, while he had no one._

 _A light tug on his Kimono made Naruto refocus, Akiho was undressing him. His- Chise's older sister quickly helped him, pulling short black shorts onto him, tying a bow onto his Haori so it was tight but not enough to hurt, things no one ever helped him with. Naruto stared at his reflection, he looked... Cool. The Haori he wore was a burnt orange, the last few inches near the bottom fading into a lighter orange, thin black stems were gracefully stitched into the fabric connected to tiny white leaves surrounding small red berries. On his feet were not shoes but neat black tape, though none of it was on the ball or heel of his foot, just the ankle, the Achilles tendon, and the middle of his foot._

 _" Let's hurry Chise, Kosuke-Sensei is going to teach you how to use a Tessen today!" Akiho said cheerfully, playfully nudging him in the back to get him to move. Naruto simply nodded and followed her, eyeing the orphanage's walls with wonder. The little parts of the wall he could see were painted a light grey, there were some type of birds neatly painted on too, but Naruto couldn't make out what birds they were due to the hundreds of children drawings covering the walls. This place was so different from the orphanage he lived in, there weren't cracks in the walls or floors, there wasn't trash littering the halls, no part of the walls were vacant showcasing the filthy concrete underneath._

 _Naruto's eyes widened even more, the large cafeteria of the orphanage was bright and open, and there were clean plates already set at the many tables. An elderly woman with black hair tied neatly into a bun on her head, and large round glasses covering her face made her way towards them, and Naruto could hear his heart pounding in his ears. This was it, this was the moment he'd be called a demon and be punished. Instinctively, Naruto gripped Akiho's hand tighter, but the shouting never came, instead, the elderly woman leaned down in front of him, and smiled._

 _" Sorry, sweetheart, but you two slept in so late breakfast got eaten up, but if you want, you can help me cook up a quick meal for both of you." The elderly woman said, ushering both of them towards the kitchen with a cheerful smile._

 _Naruto was again floored._

 _Within fifteen minutes something called a pieróg, or pierogi since there were multiple, was placed before him, they reminded him of dumplings but the dough was made from something different and instead of being filled with chicken, or pork, or vegetables, it was filled with potatoes, or at least his version was, Akiho's had been filled with cabbage and mushrooms. Ew._

 _" There you go, sweetie, freshly made pierogi made just for you. I plan on making pierniki tomorrow, and since you like helping me out so much, want to help me tomorrow too?" Mina Cho, Naruto didn't know how he knew her name but he did, asked as she affectionately rubbed his head._

 _Naruto felt himself nodding, but his mind wandered to the strange food, the strange symbols painted onto the tables and walls ( Seals, his mind clarified ), the mixture of clothes he was use to and clothing he'd never seen, it was all so different, but, at the same time, so familiar. A light tug had Naruto refocusing on Akiho, who was gesturing to his drink that Naruto hadn't touched yet, something called a Kefir._

 _" You know, the vitamins in Kefir are really good for you, and," Akiho leaned in close, a mischievous grin on her face," I'll teach you something really cool if you drink it all." Naruto quickly gulped down, in his opinion, the weird milk, and Akiho quietly laughed at him, before her expression softened._

 _" I was going to teach you it anyway, you asked me to, remember?" Naruto didn't but he nodded anyway, which seemed to please Akiho as she snatched him off his seat and planted him on her shoulders, something no one had ever allowed Naruto to do before. With a cheerful goodbye to Mrs. Cho, both Naruto and Akiho were off, the older redhead singing a tune Naruto was sure he had heard Jiji hum a few times._

 _"I'm going to be teaching you something that, I personally think, helps with evading enemies and attacking, and if you ever have to go on an undercover mission you can use this there to entrance targets." Akiho said cheerfully as they entered a large forest clearing, twisting gracefully to set him on the ground, only to twist around again in an elegant twirl and stand a few yards in front of him._

 _Akiho gave him a bright grin and continued a dance that Naruto found he couldn't take his eyes off, it reminded him of the dance girls at his orphanage would always try to do, Ballet he remembered, but mixed with something else. When Akiho had finished, she flashed Naruto another grin and motioned for him to come closer which he happily did, it wasn't until Akiho had told him to move into an odd position that Naruto realized she was going to teach him the dance. He knew that most boys his age would call him girly for actually wanting to learn it, but Naruto didn't really care what they thought, even if what they said hurt more than their disapproval._

 _Naruto felt his mind blur as he learned the dance, the elegant twirls, and graceful dips imprinting themselves deeply into his mind, it felt as if hours had passed until Akiho had told him to stop. Her round face, like a tanner version of the one Naruto saw so many times staring at him from the mirror, grinned madly at him, and her hands were clasped with his as if her excitement would pour out of her and into him._

 _" Can you feel that? The chakra signature?" She asked excitedly, and Naruto found his eyes widening as he, indeed, felt something coming. It felt like a storm, with its violent wind, and raging water, and its occasional jolt of hot, energy filled lightening, but, much to Naruto's surprise, it was all rounded out with a surprising sense of calmness, and happiness," It's Kosuke-Sensei's!"_

 _He nodded wildly at that, not really sure who that was but too afraid to ask, and turned back to the side of the forest the calm storm was coming from. Within a few minutes a man that Naruto couldn't help but think as beautiful entered the clearing, his skin was pale and unscarred, his eyes a burning ember that was both soft and calculating, and his hair as pitch as black held neatly in a braid that rested neatly over his shoulder. The man stopped a few yards before them, using short bursts of chakra to get them quickly, something Naruto eagerly noted._

 _"Chise! Akiho! I would say it's a surprise to see you two training so early but I know you two well, so it isn't that surprising at all." The man, Kosuke-Sensei, said with a sly smile, and the tone the man used reminded Naruto so much of the pineapple haired man with a furry goatee that often lazed around the Hokage's office. Naruto didn't really remember his name._

 _"Can we practice training with Tessen's now?" Naruto asked in a small voice, and Kosuke-Sensei's face softened as he nodded._

 _"Yes, yes we can. I'm going to go slow, and since this is your first time learning this style of fighting, it's okay if you don't get it right away." The man explained, his lips twitching into a smile as Naruto watched him with an awed look, he could almost see the stars in the boys eyes, Naruto surely felt like there were stars dancing in his vision._

 _It felt like hours of training to Naruto, Kosuke-Sensei explained things calmly and Naruto found that he easily understood almost all of it. Whenever Naruto would feel tired, Kosuke-Sensei would tell him to sit and stretch to regain some of his energy, and Naruto used those stretch breaks to watch the other ninja who had joined them, at what Naruto assumed was a training ground, to train. Akiho had wandered off at one point, Naruto wasn't sure when, and started training with a deep red haired woman who kept her hair up in a bun by senbons, they way they fought often drew Naruto's attention._

 _Akiho was graceful and easily dodged attacks from the older woman's Bo staff, even using some of the moves Naruto had seen and been taught from the dance she'd done earlier, but what drew his attention to them the most was the weapon Akiho used. It looked like a ribbon, a soft red silk ribbon on a stick, but the way Akiho used it made Naruto long to learn how to use a ribbon as a weapon._

 _By the time the sun started to set, Naruto was tired and sore and... Happy. For the first time in a while, Naruto was actually really happy. The other shinobi that had joined them actually looked at him, they didn't glare or whisper, or try to hurt him... He liked this place, but something told him he could never really be in this place, or, at least, he'd have to build this place back to what it once was._

 _The three of them, Akiho, Kosuke-Sensei, and Naruto, made their way back to the orphanage talking about, well, so many different things and Naruto found himself smiling widely when he understood all of it. Chakra theory, the making of special soldier pills, different fighting styles, seals, and so much more, it was like Naruto had the knowledge stored deeply in his brain and just needed to lightly nudge the idea to understand it. He never felt so smart, though he knew if the orphanage matron found out he had learned something he would get in trouble, Naruto wasn't allowed to learn like the other kids._

 _"So I was thinking, for your sixth birthday, I could get you a custom made Tessen. One that allows you to conduct chakra into a devastating blast of wind chakra, I'll teach you how to use wind chakra until then, but how does that sound to you?" Kosuke-sensei with a grin, and Naruto felt his heart leap, he'd never gotten a gift before but now this man that Naruto had only just met wanted to get him a birthday present... Wait, Naruto felt his mind halt, he wasn't almost six, he had just turned four about a few months ago._

The sudden realization that this was the memory of Chise lodged deeply into the blonds mind, as a violent and cold jolt brought him away from the colorful sky of his dream to the angry face of the orphanage matron, Mrs. Komai who was holding an empty water bucket, and the blank grey ceiling of his small orphanage room.

 _Nothing_ had ever hurt more in that moment.


End file.
